Color powder compositions for application to the skin, particularly the face and around the eyes are well known in the art. These compositions take a number of different forms ranging from loose powders in canisters to those that are molded or compressed into cakes and inserted into mirrored compact cases, typically supplied with an applicator, usually a pad, a puff or other implement.
These compositions comprise, in a major part, fillers and extenders, most of which are of the mineral variety. Examples of such mineral fillers and extenders include talc, kaolin, mica, silicon dioxide, silicon dioxide-coated mica and talc, titanium dioxide, titanium dioxide-coated mica and talc, fluroite, apatite, perlite, boron nitride and the like. To a lesser degree, such cosmetic powders include organic materials such as nylon and polyethylene. All these materials are blended together in various levels in order to impart desired benefits such as spreadibility and adherence while being smooth, lustrous and of high covering power.
Titanium dioxide, or TiO.sub.2 is well known for use in the art as a filler or extender. Japanese Patent Application 62-16410, published Jan. 24, 1987, Pola Kasei Kogyo KK, discloses a combination of plate-like powders and globular TiO.sub.2 having an average diameter 1-50 microns compounded in a solid cosmetic composition at a level from about 1% to 85%. Said cosmetic compositions are reputed to have excellent adherence to and smoothly spread on the skin. Japanese Patent Application 62-181210, published Aug. 8, 1987, Pola Kasei Kogyo KK, discloses solid cosmetic compositions comprising 10 to 85% of a base agent comprising plate shaped powders such as mica and talc with TiO.sub.2 having average grain size of 1-50 microns in a ratio of powder to TiO.sub.2 of 1:9 to about 9.5:0.5. The cosmetic compositions disclosed therein are reputed to have good adhesion and removal, good spread ability and good skin feel. Korean Patent Application 91-03133, published May 18, 1991, Lucky Company, discloses make-up compositions containing powders obtained by adsorbing 10-40% by weight of TiO.sub.2 onto mica. Said treated mica is combined with 0.5-20% focus powders to form a emulsified foundation composition. Said composition is reputed to have a good soft focus effect and an ultraviolet ray intercepting effect. European Patent Application 0 191 292, published Aug. 20, 1986, Sumitomo Chemical, discloses makeup compositions comprising flaky titanium oxide having a mean thickness from 0.01 to below 0.1 microns and a mean thickness of 0.1 to 3 microns and a mean size of 0.8 to 70 microns. Said compositions disclosed therein include powder foundations wherein the titanium dioxide is used as an extender (as opposed to a pigment) at levels from about 20 to 90% by weight of the composition. Such foundations, containing about 50% titanium oxide, are reputed to be superior in terms of adherence and smooth feel to foundations containing comparable amounts of talc.
In the present invention, good coverage and uniformity on the skin is achieved utilizing selected talcs as opposed to titanium dioxide as the filler. Minimizing or eliminating titanium dioxide as a filler is advantageous since its presence generally is responsible for whitened or ashy look it leaves on the skin. This result is surprising based on comparison with compositions, such as pressed powders, containing high levels of non-specific talc that do not provide adequate coverage.